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Fatal shooting in Athens

November 1, 2013

The Greek far-right party facing a police crackdown says two of its members have been shot dead outside its office by a gunman on a motorcycle. Parliamentarians described the killings as a "blow to democracy."

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Counter-terrorism squad gather evidence outside the local branch of ultra-right wing Golden Dawn party at the northern suburb of Neo Iraklio, after a drive-by shooting in Athens, on November 1, 2013. Two people were killed and another was seriously injured on Friday after shots were fired by two people on a motorbike as it passed the offices of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party in Athens, according to the police. Photo: ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Image: AFP/Getty Images

Two members of Greece's Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn party were shot dead in Athens on Friday. Police said a counterterrorism squad was investigating the killings of the 22- and 27-year-olds but had not yet made arrests.

"A man got off a motorcycle wearing a helmet and shot them," said Golden Dawn lawmaker Georgios Germenis. He accused police of leaving the headquarters "naked" and open to attack by removing plainclothes officers on the previous day.

A third man, aged 29, was taken to hospital with severe gunshot wounds.

Greek Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias in the government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said he would not allow Greece to become "anyone's battlefield for settling scores."

The left-wing main opposition Syriza said the shooting "targets democracy" in Greece.

Crackdown

The attack in Athens coincides with a government crackdown on Golden Dawn that began after the fatal stabbing of an anti-facist rapper musician in Athens on September 17.

A party supporter faces a murder charge. The party's leader and two other lawmakers were jailed pending trial on charges of forming a criminal group.

Golden Dawn rose from obscurity during an anti-immigrant campaign to secure 18 seats in parliament, making it Greece's third-placed party.

ipj/hc (AP, AFP, Reuters)

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Extreme-right Golden Dawn party spokesman Ilias Kassidiaris is followed by media as he leaves the police headquarters in Athens October 2, 2013. Kasidiaris and two other senior lawmakers from Greece's far-right Golden Dawn were freed on Wednesday pending trial on criminal charges, an unexpected setback to the government's efforts to clamp down on a party it has labelled a neo-Nazi criminal gang. REUTERS/Giorgos Moutafis (GREECE - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS)

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